Day 27 - Arriving to Big Bend

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So on to today: Ten hours was the time it would take me to drive to Big Bend National Park in the far southwest corner of Texas. I had wanted badly to visit Big Bend but since it was six hours out of the way, I had left it off the original itinerary, instead sticking near El Paso for White Sands, Guadalupe Mountains, and Carslbad Caverns. But since my detour to Chiricahua was so successful and the weather ideal in Big Bend, I decided to go for it.

Good decision. I arrived to Big Bend by 6pm and sped down a winding 30-mile scenic road (pic 1) to Cottonwood campground near the Rio Grande River. Finding a campsite is priority number one when I arrive to a park and since most are first-come-first-serve arriving late is not good. But I called ahead and new that Cottonwood would have availability.

After a while I saw towering cliffs in front of me and was bewildered. They were huge in the distance and seemed almost unnatural and out of place. I assumed the road was winding east west or north as I knew the river was south and thought the mountains couldn't be by the river. But then I remembered some pictures of Big Bend and hey! that's the Rio Grande. The Wall-Game of Thrones style between the U.S. and Mexico. As you got closer the wall dominated the skyline. It was a site to behold. See pic.

After securing my campsite, I drove six more miles to one of the park highlights: the Santa Elena canyon-- 1500 foot and narrow canyon walls from the south entering from Mexico. This is an infamous white water rafting river section because there is an impossible rocks section. The park has a mile hike into the canyon and I arrived at dusk and crossed the river into the canyon just as the darkness was setting in. Then I hiked out at night with my headlamp and drove back and slept-- happy to have made it this far south.

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Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Day 106 - Seattle

My July 4th started with a drive from Vancover to Seattle, arriving at the Museum of Flight by 11. The museum tour began with a display of the 27 U.S. Flags, made interesting by announcing the history of the states entry into the union. This B-17 is similar to the bomber my grandfather flew in WW2. A former Air Force One plane that Kennedy road on was another highlight. I stayed all day at the museum enjoying the history of aviation exhibits and finally space! I drove into downtown Seattle to checkout the city parks reserved for fireworks watching. These neighborhoods were crawling with people and would make horrible stealth street camping sites. I called several hostels and all were full... but then I found one with one bed left. I reserved the spot and drove to the hostel to find it in walking distance to the fireworks. I joined a group waking down to see the fireworks. We were joined by a few others. Two skydivers with fire flaming behind their path were followed by...

Day 93 - Calgary to Banff

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary. I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers. I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...

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